WTC document preservation notice, NYC Law Department

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Gerson Says EPA Findings Confirm Community Fears, page 2

cover all sensitive areas and enough random areas to achieve a scientifically significant sampling that gives a valid assessment of a wide array of toxins and their potential health impact. (The legislation is limited to testing because the City Council does not have jurisdiction to legislate that the EPA redo its cleanup.)

In the legislation, Gerson joins the call of Congress Member Jerrold Nadler for a full EPA assessment for the Lower East Side and Brooklyn Heights, ignored in the original study, and for a building-to-building review of ail areas already cleaned. “I also join the community in commending Congress Member Nadler for his tenacious pursuit of this issue,” commented Gerson.

“It is not too late to save lives because the health consequences happen gradually over many years,” added Gerson. “And many experts confirm that toxins remain in place for long periods of time to be breathed in slowly and insidiously.”

Hearing and Investigation

Gerson also called for an assessment of the role played by the Bloomberg administration in the final outcome of the EPA’s work. From the start, cleanup operations were mandated as a joint city-federal project, and he feels the city should be held responsible to check on the efficacy of the EPA’s work in compliance with its joint role as well as its municipal responsibility to safeguard the health of its citizenry.

“The city administration and the DEP cannot escape complicity given their shared responsibility to safeguard citizens,” said Gerson. “If necessary, criminal charges, including impeachment of any high officials involved, must be pursued.”

As chair of the Select Committee on Lower Manhattan Development and representative of the district, he will hold a public hearing on the EPA testing and cleanup efforts in early September. He also joins Congress Member Nadler in calling for a thorough investigation of the Inspector General’s recent findings.

Study Scientificaiiy Flawed

When the EPA report was first released, Gerson cited the agency's research as shortsighted in its goal and methodology. On behalf of health concerns of his constituents in Lower Manhattan, he proposed a new approach that would focus on the actual health impact on victims, rescue workers and residents who inhaled, ingested and came in contact with particulate toxins.

“To uncover the actual health impact of the 9/11 tragedy, we need to examine people, not dust,” added Gerson. “Now, we see that the EPA Is guilty of an egregious breach of public trust, and that makes the EPA’s performance ethically scandalous as well as scientifically flawed.”

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